The GWL Programme is being implemented in Malawi by GWP & UNICEF with funding from FCDO, supporting political leadership for improved water, sanitation and hygiene services, and climate resilience to help the country meet water targets by 2030.
Chairpersons & secretaries of the three Task Forces on Advocacy, Climate Resilience Financing and Investment, and Coordination met at Kalipano Hotel in Dowa District from 23 - 25 August 2023 to work on their final drafts.
The Task Force representatives also virtually met the Malawi Finance Consultant responsible for developing finance plans for the Response Strategies to discuss the roadmap from this stage where it was agreed that the consultant would train the task force members on costing the activities in their strategies and help them understand available financing options.
According to Mr. Alick Kaumba - Director of Planning in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, , the task forces will now work on finance strategies in relation to the challenge they are addressing before presenting the Response Strategies to the Sector Working Group for validation and then launch the strategies at the end of the year.
“The finance plans will be informed by the training that the finance consultant will provide. This is why it is critical that the training content should be tailor-made for the interventions identified in the response strategies that the taskforces have worked on to resolve the three Water Resources Management (WRM) and WASH barriers,” said Mr. Kaumba.
According to Mr. Bernet Phiri - GWL Malawi Finance Consultant, , the task force members will be trained in the approach for the development of a finance plan, budgeting and budgeting methods, tools for budgeting, costing, and financing options.
Mrs. Deborah Muheka - GWL Malawi Coordinator explained that while the training would involve all three task force members, the consultant would meet up with individual task forces to develop the finance plans through physical and virtual meetings.
“We plan to have a 2-day training for all task force members where the consultant will focus on the general material, with a focus on the interventions in the three response strategies. Afterwards, the consultant will work with each Task Force thereafter, getting into the details of costing the planned activities for each response strategy,” said Mrs. Muheka.
The Ministry of Water and Sanitation hopes to have finalised versions of the response strategies, complete with the finance plans by the end of September. In October, the Ministry, GWP, and the task forces will present the documents to the Sector Working Group before the same can be presented to the Cabinet and launched.
The GWL Programme is being implemented in several countries, including Malawi, Tanzania, Central African Republic, and Uganda.